7

 

Hagar's Faith: A Challenge to Abraham and Sarah

Sohn Eun Ha

 

In the Bible, Abraham appears as the symbol of faith. But in the Genesis story, two women, Sarah and Hagar, challenged such faith. Sarah, wife of a very wealthy man, had certain privileges within the patriarchal system. Abraham who was called the .ancestor of faith had at one time received protection from Sarah and then betrayed her at two different times. But God saved Sarah at both times. Then when Sarah was unable to bear a child, she let Hagar, her slave woman; accomplish the role of bearing a child. So Hagar became another woman in the life of Abraham. Hagar, the first woman to appear in the Bible as oppressed and abused woman, demands a great deal of attention. But we are not able to know more about her apart from those written by the editors who were definitely male. So it is necessary for us to read the story from the perspective of women.

 

Sarah and Abraham (Gen. 12:10-30; 20:1-18)

Historically, we are told that Canaan was for a time hard pressed by famine. When Abraham went to Egypt, he passed off his beautiful wife as his sister in order to protect themselves. He brought her to the Pharaoh and in return received his safety. However, Yahweh intervened in this situation and, thus, Sarah was saved with Yahweh's own hand.

 

8

 

Traditionally, under the thesis that Abraham is the father of faith, we have been able to justify all of his actions. But this particular inhuman action of betrayal is not pointed out. The central figure of the story is always Abraham while Sarah appears only as a secondary figure. Indeed this story is the story of discrimination of the sexes.

In order to save his own life, Abraham took his wife to the Pharaoh and in return received many things. Sarah appears as a totally subordinate woman to her husband Abraham. There is not one word said by Sarah in this story. Her spirit of sacrifice is not interpreted as the foundation for Abraham's faith. This is also the story of the subordination of women within the patriarchal system, which has been passed on till today where women, wives and daughters naturally sacrifice for their husbands, fathers and the male members of their families.

In my church, women cannot be ordained and neither can they become ministers. The church would ask, "How is it possible that women can stand behind the pulpit and teach anything?" Whereas in the middle ages many women were persecuted, today we are spiritually and psychologically persecuted day by day. Although my parents received Christianity very early, when I was born they cried a river of tears - the reason was that I was the fourth daughter! In order to have a son they kept bearing children. Had a son been born before me, then I would not have been born.

In Korean society, Confucianism is so embedded in our culture that a family is pressured to continue to have children until they can have a son and to treat the daughters as the least of the members of the family. Our church has likewise inherited and instituted this kind of system within itself. Given this, I believe there are some parts of the Bible, which must not only be reinterpreted but also even rewritten, and this includes this portion of the Genesis account.

 

9

 

Let us now think of the fact that Sarah received protection not from her husband but from God. Although Abraham did nothing to save Sarah whom he betrayed and sold off to the Pharaoh, God came to rescue them. Here the focus of God's concern is Sarah and this reverses the existing patriarchal system. It shows that woman does not belong to her husband but to God.

 

Hagar and Sarah (Gen. 16:1-6; 21:9-31)

Although Sarah was exploited by being sold as an instrument by her husband to the Pharaoh, she now appears in this story as an oppressor who forced Hagar to submit to her power. Sarah was the wife of a very wealthy man who had many special privileges in society. In contrast to her was Hagar, the Egyptian slave girl, who was cast away from society. Traditionally, women who appear in scriptures - like Ruth, Naomi, Esther, Deborah and Mary – are women perceived to be mothers or distinctive women.

Women like Hagar are not given as much prominence for they are seen in the negative light. Despite the fact that Hagar had conceived a child, the child was not meant to be anything to her. Hagar must have wanted to say many things. She was used as an instrument of reproduction within the structure of patriarchy. She was used not only by a man but also by a woman of the patriarchal system. We can see that she was oppressed by the social status of the woman Sarah. Sarah blamed God for her not being able to conceive children and used Hagar. Here Hagar experienced a treatment not as a human but as a mere instrument.

Abraham did not say one word but obeyed Sarah's commands. Afterwards, we see a new consciousness in Hagar when she challenged Sarah, her mistress. But Sarah's response was clear. "And Sarah said to Abraham, 'may this insult to me come home to you. It was I who put my slave girl into your arms. Now she knows that she has conceived. I count for nothing in

 

10

 

her eyes. Let Yahweh judge between me and you.' And Abraham replied to Sarah, "Your slave girl is at your disposal. Treat her as you think fit." And so she mistreated Hagar severely. Thus, Hagar left her mistress but God's angel appeared and told her, "Go back to the hands of Abraham and conceive a child...you shall name him Ishmael..." Hagar went back and bore Abraham a son. Later God also gave Sarah a son as God had promised to her and she named him Isaac. In order to protect her privileges, Sarah cast away Hagar and her son Ishmael. Here we see Abraham in agony but to no avail for, in the end, Hagar and her son were sent away. This is the second time we see an eviction. While in the desert and as Ishmael was crying out, God heard his cry and did not only save him but promised to make him the father of a great nation.

So we can see that Sarah and Hagar were women within a patriarchal society who were both exploited and oppressed. But Hagar experienced a more complex kind of discrimination for she was the victim of sexual, caste, social as well as national or racial discrimination. Sarah belonged to the class of the privileged in society and she became the oppressor of Hagar. Hagar was a sacrifice, a victim, who, being powerless, was used and then cast away. She was used by a man as a sexual object and by a woman as a mere instrument. She is indeed the symbol of all oppressed women in society today. She is like the working women who are subjected to sexual discrimination in factories and other work places. She is also among the women who are being exploited by other women in the upper classes of society. She is also the women who are victims of brutality from their husbands. She is among the "unknown" women. She is like the divorced women who live and fend alone for their children. She is also among the prostitutes who are used as sexual commodity in society. She is these and many more.

I believe that Hagar in this passage appears to us as a theological challenge. She challenges and creates faith in many different ways. In Gen. 16:13, she creates a name for God and calls

 

11

 

God by name; she is also the first woman, a slave from the history of faith. She is also the first woman, a slave woman at that, to appear in the Bible as empowered woman. Yet she is completely cast away from the history of faith. She is also the woman who receives a promise from God to be the bearer of the descendants of Israel.

Through this story, we can recognize the women's issues of our time. We can see the controversies of our society, which encourage and cause sexual discrimination. This is not only true in Asia but also even in the whole world. In my church, when we speak about women's theology as world women's movement, it is usually viewed as negative. But theology is the task of our Christian women's movement. And so I hope that, given the context of our realities, we can indeed succeed in our attempts at women's theology.

 

12

 

Madonna and Child   Courtesy: Lim Sew Yong

 

13

 

Suggested Procedures:

1.   Divide into three small groups and assign each to study a Bible character (Hagar, Sarah and Abraham) using the texts for this study. Let each group creatively describe/ characterize the faith of each Bible character to the big group.

2.   Proceed with the Bible study presentation here. What do you think and how do you feel about the characterization of Hagar, Sarah and Abraham?

3.   How does each character (Hagar, Sarah and Abraham) symbolize or represent a reality in your context? e.g. Hagar, "the symbol of all oppressed women in society today;" Sarah, "a subordinate woman to her husband" yet, coming from a privileged class, she became "the oppressor of Hagar."

4.   In what ways are we like any of the three characters?